The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-05-06
Critic" he said eagerly, '.You know
what Lord Tennyson says Of this feeling:

And ebb into a former life. or seem
10 lapse far back into a confused dream
To states of mystical slmilitudei
II one but speaks, or hens, or stirs In his chair
Even the wonder waxcth more and more,
So that we say All this hath been before,
All this hath been, know not when or where
"Sir Walter Scott was also believer
in the fact of pre-existence. All men
of great soul-men who have little OF
the animal nature-believe IN 1t, be-
cause they feel it. The individual soul
passes through many prison houses.
Mans soul dies, alas when he is born.
and is emancipa;ed when the body dies,
but to be imprisoned again and again.
Think not Young man, that this fact
overturns Christianity 1t is rather a
key to the many mysteries OF Provi-
dence which we cannot comprehend
What does Plato tell us?-that all
knowledge is recollection, Pythagoras
believed in the doctrines and Southey,
Lord Lytton and Milton also subscrib-
ed to ii. But pardon me; it IS not 10
convert you that | invited you here,
but to try an experiment"
"Excuse me intcrrupting you, |
said: "but how is il that You recognize
in me one you knew in state OF pre-
existence two thousand years ago|'
'The question is a natural one, and
very easy TO answer. You are at pres
ent journalist is how you make
your living. But there is something
you lovc--sometning to which you de-
vote every spare moment oil your
time"
THAT is quite true, sir" ! stammer-
ed; ''but it is secret. No one knows
of my fancy
And that fancy, rs you call it, is a
love for astronomy Am not right?"
Quite right" replied in amaze
ment. Il am passionately fond of as
tronomy."
just so. You were the sarie when
| called YOU Critic, when you lived at
Athens. The expression on your face,
in your eyes. is the same as it was then.
Your present body resembles the one
YOU wore as Critic more in expression
than in form That is how | recogniz-
ed YOU. And now want to repeat all
/ remember concerning you. 1t is u
repetition of how they used 10 bring up
children in Athens, and may serve you
to turn an honest penny in an article. y
He smiled, and again | found my
self blushing, for that idea had natur-
ally enough entered my mind. lie
continued:
For the first five years of your life
you were allowed TO grow without any
attempt at educating you, except q
slight punishment for faults might be
so-called, nor were you permitted TO
keep the company of the slaves and
servants. Before the age OF seven your
father secured to you the privilege OF n
citizen, enrolling you by the name of
Critic in the public register, called in
Athens the archives OF the curia.
dwelt near the Temple OF Theseus. L
had been pupil of Plato, and to my
school were you sent. The laws OF
Athens ordered schools to be opened at
sunrise and closed at sunset. l taught
YOU the form and value of letters: ]
| taught YOU to trace those | formed on
tablets with your stylus. gave due
attention 10 your punctuation. We
read the Fables of Esop' together; you
learned to enumerate the troops who
went to the siege OF Troy, and thus be-
came familiar with the names of the
most ancient families in Greece. / was
careful to instil pure pronunciation; to
cultivate that melody and cadence in
your voice which gave such sweetness
and charm TO Athenian orators. You
were not only taught to sing with ex-
preston, but to accompany your voice
on the Tyre. You were taught arthme-
tic, not for the purpose OF commerce.
but TO enlarge the powers of your mind
and prepare it for the reception of ge-
ometry and astronomy. Geometry. it
was supposed. would aid you when YOU
led an army to battle; in placing your
troops, and conducting sieges scientific
ally. Astronomy was taught you simply
| 10 prevent yOu being alarmed at the
natural phenomena of the heavens.
This science altogether absorbed you,
however.
"Your father believed that il was bet
ter for you to remain ignorant of the
many things rather than have you ac-
| ouire so much as 10 form n confused
| tumble in your mind, and he insisted
that you should he taught only that
which would prove eventually useful
You were taught to dance TO swim. to
ride.
Zone day you put a question 10 mo
which proved that your mind was
opening rapidly"
Master, by what criterion should ]
Judge the merit of bookP' you asked.
Aristotle happened to be present in
the school, and he replied, When the
author has said everything he ought.
nothing superfluous. and SAYS what he